Addressing the unique health challenges faced by women
Originally published on HR.com.
Highlights:
Women’s health has become a top priority for employers. In addition to making up just under half of the workforce, women are primarily responsible for making benefits decisions for their families and for taking on caregiving duties. These responsibilities can result in lost productivity or dropping out of the workforce when women must choose between family obligations and professional opportunities.
With five generations of women in the workforce, organizations must address a wide range of needs. For example, Gen Z and millennial women often seek benefits related to fertility and raising a family, while Gen X and baby boomer women may seek benefits related to menopause and caring for aging parents. Since these needs can affect the course of women’s careers and the choices they make about where to work, employers need to proactively support women’s wellbeing in their policies and workplace culture to attract and retain female talent.
This article highlights six key areas of concern for women’s health and wellbeing in the workplace, as well as actions that HR leaders in companies can take to mitigate those issues or turn them into advantages. There is no single solution for all these potential concerns, as the needs of women in the workplace depend on their age, stage of career, and the health status of themselves and their loved ones.
In 2022, women earned, on average, 82 cents on the dollar compared to men. This is driven in large part by caregiving responsibilities (childcare and eldercare) and in part due to longstanding gender discrimination. This difference in pay erodes women’s purchasing power over time and can lower their standard of living or chances to retire comfortably.
To address this, employers can review their compensation data to assess pay equity and seek to address any pay disparities that they discover. Ultimately, employers can build employee confidence and goodwill by sharing this data and information about remediation efforts with their employees.
Women’s careers advance more slowly than men’s, leading to fewer women in middle management and in the C-suite. Further, women perform more “office housework” than men without any boost to their careers. These challenges can create stress and frustration for women and may push them out of the workforce.
Employers can take many actions to address appropriate advancement for their female talent. First, leadership can measure the trajectory of their high-potential female employees and identify barriers to advancement. Second, employers can offer mentorship opportunities for early to mid-career women, with both male and female mentors. Third, employers can communicate a clear roadmap for career advancement and offer skill-building to those who need targeted support.
U.S. maternal health outcomes are the worst in the developed world. Moreover, women going through childbirth often have poor access to quality care and high out-of-pocket costs.
Employers can evaluate their benefits to be sure that women don’t face unreasonable out-of-pocket costs and review their leave policies to be sure that new parents can take appropriate time away from work. Members should have information from health plans on provider quality and maternal complications, and employers should request aggregate quality data, as well as information on planned interventions.
Employers can also encourage medical carriers to offer coverage for birth centers and to pay for value in maternal care. Employers can also offer meaningful maternal benefits, like coverage for midwives, and communicate these to plan members. Enhanced benefits, such as birth doulas, can improve the birth experience and decrease health disparities.
About 11% of women of reproductive age experience fertility problems. The fertility journey can be stressful and costly and can impact productivity. Additionally, managing fertility appointments may require time away from work and be perceived as a lack of commitment. Reproductive health access has worsened for women since the 2022 Dobbs decision, sometimes requiring time away from work or travel to obtain needed healthcare.
Employers can put into place policies and benefits to support family forming decisions, such as financial assistance, travel support, and access to counseling and flexible work options. Further, many employers have made fertility coverage more inclusive by no longer requiring a diagnosis of infertility to access some specialized services. Many employers currently work with vendors that can support women’s reproductive health from pregnancy to parenthood.
Employer-sponsored health insurance provides contraception without cost sharing, with rare exceptions. To ensure these high-value medications truly have no out-of-pocket cost, employers can instruct their pharmacy benefits managers to waive cost-sharing regardless of where contraceptives are obtained, as well as check with their carriers that long-acting contraception, such as intrauterine devices, are provided with no cost share.
Women spend more time on caregiving and household tasks than their male counterparts, even accounting for income. The caregiving is for both children and an aging U.S. population, with 59% of eldercare being done by women. These responsibilities can increase stress and mental health needs among women, leading to presenteeism or absenteeism and subsequent higher pay inequality over time.
Employers can support women through parent “on/off” tracks for appropriate roles. Paid time-off that can be flexed for both child and eldercare may be especially attractive for female employees. Women often gravitate toward roles with increased flexibility, like those that became available during the pandemic. Maintaining that flexibility, as appropriate, would support attraction and retention. Lastly, employee assistance programs that give targeted support for eldercare needs are of growing interest.
Menopause impacts women at an average age of 50, although some are affected much earlier. Symptoms can last 10 or more years, often impacting experienced and seasoned female talent at the peaks of their careers. Beyond the symptoms of hot flashes, night sweats, and weight gain, menopause may increase the risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, sleep disturbances, cognitive disturbances, and osteoporosis. These changes can lead to increased mental health and physical needs for women in the workplace.
Employers can support women by creating awareness about this chronic condition and educating managers and female employees on the benefits that can address menopausal symptoms. For employers working with specialist fertility vendors, those same vendors can often support women’s menopausal needs. Operationally, employers can offer flexible working arrangements, lower the temperature in the workplace, and even offer fans for individual females who need them.
When it comes to employee wellbeing, the stakes have never been higher for employers and women. Employers that listen, create awareness, and deploy policies to improve women’s wellbeing across their lifespans will have access to the best workforce and reap substantial economic benefits.
